As I mentioned recently, I’ve been working on an e-Book since the beginning of the year. As far as I know it is the first published collection of interviews with “ordinary” people about their experiences of the Icelandic economic meltdown, and is called, prosaically enough, Living Inside the Meltdown.
It is impossible to talk about some across-the-board effect of the meltdown on regular citizens because everyone’s circumstances were different. In the book, ten people – in eight interviews – share their individual stories. When looking for people to interview, I was not interested in the most sensational scandals or titillating stories. I simply wanted the stories of ordinary people with a range of experience, and was first and foremost guided by my own curiosity.
I was curious to know, for instance, how a police officer felt who had to take a stand against protesters during the Kitchenware Revolution. Did sympathize with them, or was he opposed? Did he want to join the protesters? And what are his thoughts now about what the revolution accomplished?
I was also curious to know how someone who worked in a bank had felt going to work on the day the bank melted down. What was the atmosphere like? What was her workday like?
And what about those people we had heard about who were students abroad when currency controls were suddenly implemented and who were cut off from their financial source? Some of them had small children – how did they cope in a foreign country with no access to money?
What about small business owners, who suddenly had to pay for orders up front? And what was it like for foreigners who lived in Iceland and who perhaps had a limited understanding of what was going on. Were they afraid? Where did they get their news from?
I found these answers, plus many more that I wasn’t even looking for, in the interviews.
Living Inside the Meltdown is an electronic download in PDF form and can be read on any device that supports PDF files. [For anyone who doesn't know, PDF files are read by Acrobat reader, which can be downloaded for free.] It can also easily be printed out with a desktop printer. The book is a total of 98 pages in an easy-to-read A5 format. You can download a sample of the first eight pages here.
You can purchase the full book by clicking on the “Add to Cart” link below. That will take you to an external page. You purchase the book via PayPal, either through a PayPal account if you have one, or a credit card. Once your payment is processed you will receive an email providing a link from which you can download the book. Please note that the link expires after five downloads, so you will want to save the book to your PC or other device.
Living Inside the Meltdown costs USD 24.99, but as an introductory offer it is available for USD 19.99 for the next 7 days only!
{ 51 comments… read them below or add one }
Cool! I’m sure this’ll be a fascinating read.
“Living Inside the Meltdown is an electronic download in PDF form [...]”
Mmm, for 20 (or 25) bucks, I’d have preferred a hardcopy edition, though, to be honest. Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer to own physical copies of books.
Had a quick read, need to re-read, I think of all the stories, I found myself nodding along in enthusiatic agreement with Tryggvi Hannesson.
He pretty much nailed the situation.
Thanks Alda. One thing that occurred to me as I was reading was doubt about being able to afford living in New Iceland. I think I might have been responding to how trapped the first couple felt after having purchased their dream home then having been unable to sell their apartments. One idea I had to make things easier on the low income folks is to nationalize the food distribution system (grocery stores not farms) to guard against the avarice of the former owners. Just thinking….
” nationalize the food distribution system (grocery stores …) ”
Following the successful Soviet model are we? Reminds me of a quote from Milton Friedman that I read today: “If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there’d be a shortage of sand.” Funnily enough, it is applicable in lots of places, UK, US, Iceland ….
I have just bought one “copy”. I consider it even convenient to have it available in electronic form. Thus I can read it on my Iphone, whenever there is time, without having to carry around a heavy paper-book. In addition it’s possible to search within the text and use the available links.
Michael Lewis,
Our government decided not to control our banks and now we have no shortage of unemployment in Iceland. I wouldn’t mind being without that kind of shortage.
Johanna
Congratulations Alda! Living Inside the Meltdown is a stunning read. In your Introduction you refer to an unwritten code of ethics. No such thing. A code has to be written out as part of a structure of governance underpinned by law. It was re-assuring to read in Harpa’s story that people in the UK were supportive and kind. ‘Listen to your inner voice’, she says and how right she is.
The story that most fascinated (especially as I have taken part in many demonstrations in the UK ) is Haraldur’s- his wonderful definition of the police as being the ‘law and order servant’. Alas, in the UK, we have a ‘police force’. I have been trained in non-violent demonstration techniques but in spite of this have felt the full ‘force’ of muscle power and batons. He is right too about the low walls and fences around property in Iceland. I was amazed by this when walking around Reykjavik in March.
I hope the book gets the big readership it deserves.
sylvia from viking wirral
Thank you Sylvia! I’m so glad you liked it.
“I have been trained in non-violent demonstration techniques”
Holding a placard and shouting ? Or, as in Iceland, banging some pots together. Hard to imagine that such skills are hard to master.
Nevertheless, a skill that many in the UK may be practicing soon.
What with the cutbacks due, I suspect many who rely on the state to hand them other taxpayers money, may find the well a little dry.
Reading the story of the police man, its a shame that so many people wanted to ‘shoot the messenger’. Mob demonstrations are usualy self indulgent. Bit like the Greeks complaining that nobody wants to buy their debt and subsidise their lifestyle, after lying about the state of their books and dodging tax.
You’ve got to laugh sometimes….
Did you think of putting your own story in it?
Andrew – yes I did.
Did you see this article about Icelandic translators in The Wall Street Journal?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704464704575208050941674586.html?KEYWORDS=iceland
I did indeed. Someone posted the link in the comments a few days ago. But – thanks!
Michael Lewis:
No, not for holding a placard and shouting. It was against the Vietnam War, then Peace Demonstrations and then at Greenham Common, sitting down and blockading roads, being picked up and thrown to the ground by police, being hit, batoned and manhandled by policemen who had their I.D. numbers covered up and learning not to retaliate with force but to quietly try to sit down again; and when I sustained injury, to look the policeman in the face and say quietly something like ‘what would your mother say if she knew you had done this?’ Training in non-violent techniques was provided by CND.
sylvia from viking wirral
Sylvia – Well vote tomorrow. Icelanders threw out their government and good on them. Not that I make much of who their subsequently elected. Maybe I should be an Icelandic MP
The police have jobs to do – in Iceland, people venting their anger on the nearest target – I understand their anger, but their actions deplorable. Given the examples you cite and the fact that the UK didn’t enter the Vietnam war and that a democratic government decided a nuclear deterrent was necessary, I think I stand by my judgement that many of these demonstrations are self indulgent.
I feel sorry for the Icelanders: it seems they had a corrupt government, but taking it out on the police, simply wrong. I guess some people felt impotent. Lazy Greek unionists stirred up trouble and today some poor retail bank employees (a world a way from the Greek financial system no doubt and the mess created by government) were killed.
People should learn to vote and not be so self indulgent.
Michael- read again what Haraldur is saying -it’s a powerful message and I think he comes across as one fantastic policeman.
Vote tomorrow? Of course I will. I’ve been out canvassing for the past week. I’m not telling you for which party, but it isn’t D.Cameron. You can’t defend the right to demonstrate unless you are also prepared to cast your vote. I guess we will all be glued to the TV after 10 pm.
sylvia from viking wirral
I just finished the book. Wonderful! Although, I thought it was a tad expensive, especially considering it wasn’t a hard copy.
My favorite quote in the book was the way one of the immigrants described Icelanders, “They think like a herd.”
I don’t mean to be rude or offend in any of this commentary. I’ve been to Iceland twice and absolutely love it. My wife and I have actually thought what a nice place it would be to live. Not anymore.
“Living Inside the Meltdown” and “Meltdown Iceland” present a country that is the opposite of what we thought. Instead of the most “transparent” country in the world, we now see a country full of corruption and cronyism. More troubling is it seems there is no way out for Iceland? These problems were hidden, yet seem to be very embedded in the culture.
Iceland lacks violence, but it seems to be a very dangerous place. It saddens me to say that, but apparently my delusion has just been shattered! I wish Icelandic people the best, I hope your beautiful country finds a way out of this mess.
Thank you Evan!
I appreciate the fact that you find the book expensive, but believe me, the revenues I receive from it will go nowhere near covering the cost of what was put into it. Or, for that matter, the cost of running this blog — after all, selling this book is one way of trying to recoup some of that.
Buy Alda’s book and help her avoid economic meltdown, as meltdowns go Icelanders you have now been eclipsed by Greece and all the other sovereign defaults that the meeja keep muttering on about ,maybe civilisation will collapse and the world will forget about Icesave, help is at hand Icelanders life has moved on and well your Icesave is just so October 2008, just ask Angela Merkel as she tries to sell Greece to the German taxpayer, even Ireland is lending money to Greece a mere 1 billion of course ha ha hilarious.
@Alda another successful sale of your life changing book ,I’LL never be the same, with the $20 you will be able to buy a cup of coffee at that cheap backpackers hostel you go to a.k.a Hotel Ranga.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this e-book. The perspective of Haraldur the police officer was probably my favorite, mostly because his attitude differs so much between what I see in the police in the US. Of course, I have to remind myself that, in many ways, compared to large urban areas here, he is really more of a small-town cop. As for the others, they were a reminder how sometimes in life, one innocuous decision or choice, made with the best intentions, can have a profound impact later on — if only I had done this, or hadn’t done that.
I do think $19.95 was a bit pricey, though maybe this is more the norm in the world of self-published e-bo0ks. I did try loading the PDF file on my Kindle e-book reader, but would have been better in a different format.
“My favorite quote in the book was the way one of the immigrants described Icelanders, “They think like a herd.” ”
Evan, I think the context of that quote was housewives buying products at a shopping mall. I think that would probably count as a statistically skewed sample. And, behaviour not unique to Iceland either … its a well known sales tactic for some of these vendors to have a ‘plant’ in the audience for example.
That said, one overall impression I get is just how calmly people in Iceland seemed to have dealt with the situation. I once worked with someone who kicked in a computer monitor (flat panel) because some sw crash and regularly smashed up telephones on the desk to take out frustration, over what are relatively petty day to day occurences. Given the life changing events, people in Iceland seem to have a remarkable ‘muddling through’ ability.
Nothing yet on your site about Hreidar Mar Sigurdsson !!
Perhaps you could visit him and get his views.
@Michael Lewis
ML- “Given the life changing events, people in Iceland seem to have a remarkable ‘muddling through’ ability.”
JJ-LHW- That does make sense, considering the history of the country. The history of Iceland isn’t exactly one tale of good fortune and abundance after another. And if you think about it, at least this time there isn’t a toxic mist that is threatening to obliterate all life in Niceland(Móðuharðindin). Major bad stuff. Yes. Terrible situation, definitely. Toxic mist? Not yet and hopefully not in any of our lifetimes.
I am sorry to tell you that I won’t be buying your book due to the high price. I have donated to you once in the past and I also bought your excellent “Icelandic Folk Legends” book, so it’s not that I am generally opposed to donating or paying for content.
Had this book been a hardcopy I would have paid immediately (plus postage) . But for an e-book you really over-did it with the asking price, which seems really high to me (even more looking at the price you’ll be asking after the first 7 days). If you want to see every hour you put into the book paid for with the same rates you get for your translation work, I can understand why you’re asking such a high price, though I am not sure you’ll be successful with such an approach. I am sure with a lower price (like 12$ or 15$) you would sell more books and make up for the lower revenue from each individual sold copy (after all, since it’s no hardcopy, there is no additional cost involved in handing out additional copies).
Take a look at what Amazon charges for it’s kindle books – and there obviously the author will only get a fraction of what they charge!
In the end, you can ask whatever price you think is right for the e-book. But as some wise man (Publilius Syrus) said: “Everything is worth what its purchaser will pay for it.”
JH – You are, of course, free to purchase the book or not, and don’t owe me any explanation. If you feel the book is too expensive, that’s perfectly fine. However, as someone mentioned upthread, I think you’ll find this is a fairly common price for a self-published e-book, and even in the lower ranges. To wit:
http://e-library.net/Inner-Secrets-of-Martial-Arts-Success__ebooks9770.htm
http://www.problogger.net/31dbbb-workbook/
http://e-library.net/Digital-Photography-Success__ebooks3324.htm
Certainly Amazon may charge less for e-books. In many cases, however, those are books that have already been published in hard copy and are simply being transferred to the e-book format and therefore carry minimal production costs.
In this case, I am both author and publisher, and yes I get the full commission, less a fee that I pay to the company that manages the online transaction. I do what the publisher normally would take a cut for: designing the book, distributing the book through this website, and so on. All of that constitutes work.
But as I said, the choice is yours and you can feel free to buy or not buy the book.
Your book is way over the top Alda ( Can get the most disgraceful Porn for free) but then you do live in the happiest most expensive country in the world.
Hi Alda,
Thats really wonderful, I had no idea you were writing that. I cant wait to read it!! Til hamingju, flott hjá þér!
Have been awol for a while with a lot going on. Havent checked in for a couple weeks but just had to make the time today when reading about the first arrest in connection to the meltdown – or am I wrong? Will you be writing about it here? Is it maybe not a big deal? I havent been as diligently reading the Icelandic news as before so this looks like a big deal to me but maybe it isnt back home?
And then a bit of opinionated outrage: WTF is up with the criticism in the comments today? Do you think this is a tad bit the wrong place to express your opinion on Aldas prices? How about just keeping your opinions on this to yourself, and then heres a novel idea: If you dont have the money then dont buy it. Sheesh! How rude.
:** Takk mín kæra. Yndislegt að fá þennan stuðning.
Og jú, þetta er meiriháttar mál með Hreiðar og ég veit ekki hvort ég nenni að blogga um það. Svona í ljósi aðstæðna.
Ég skil stundum ekki hvernig þú nennir að standa í þessu kommentakerfi. Í alvöru talað, sumir kunna enga mannasiði. Ég væri alltaf í vondu skapi ef ég reyndi að halda svona síðu, þú hlýtur að vera með þykkan skráp og ég ber mikla virðingu fyrir þér hvernig þú dílar við þetta. Ég varð alveg grautfúl að lesa þetta og þetta er ekki einu sinni mitt blogg!! Ha!
En heyrðu ég er ennþá með sömu plön og áður, en það varð bara frestun á öllu. Bara svo þú vitir það
Enn og aftur frábært hjá þér, ég vona að þú sért að halda upp á þetta eins og þú átt skilið.
I have just finished the book and enjoyed reading it. I think, the overall non-violent way of protesting and reacting to the protests as described by Haraldur the policeman, is something Iceland could be proud of – particularly seeing in Greece how easily things can get out of hand.
Not so nice are the experiences of the both Portuguese workers with their Icelandic employers and their perceived xenophobia.
I’m still wondering about this ominous Fund 9 of Glitnir, where some of the interviewees like many other Icelanders invested and lost much money. Was it a form of the mentioned herd thinking, that so many people considered it as a chance too good to miss? What had made this fund so appealing?
RK – If you publish, I guess you need a thick skin, or you are in the wrong business. The best forums are those that express wide views too, imvho. Though personally, I think the book is great value and it is something you simply won’t be able to purchase elsewhere.
Kevin – off topic slightly old chap, but what makes porn ‘disgraceful’ as opposed to “un-disgraceful” porn, or have I misread your grammar? I wonder how one categorises porn, beyond the rather obvious – asian, lesbian … etc… I am reminded of the famous Italian semiotician – Umberto Eco, who, in his book ‘How to travel with a Salmon’ wrote a chapter on how to tell if you are watching a porn movie. I suggest you have a read. Or, get Alda’s book, it is worth a read. And you can show it to your wife too.
I originally didn’t intend to say anything about the price of the book again (although I agree with JH, I acknowledge that it’s Alda’s decision what she’ll charge, and it’s unlikely that talking about it at length will lead anywhere), but I’ve got a question for RK: since you said:
“Do you think this is a tad bit the wrong place to express your opinion on Aldas prices? ”
Where, pray, DO you think is the right place to express your opinion on those prices, if not here? YMMV, but I couldn’t think of a better place to give feedback than the author’s very own blog, particularly a post specifically dedicated to the book in question.
What I said above nonwithstanding, do you honestly think that commenters should be mindless yes-men who’ll praise anything and everything instead of giving their honest opinion? There is such a thing as arguing for the sake of it and being a nuisance, but there’s also such a thing as providing constructive and/or valuable feedback.
I like to think that the commenters here generally do the latter, not the former!
Interesting book – although I have only read a few pages so far. Have you considered the idea of having an interview with the people in some time again?
@Michael Lewis:
Im not a stranger to feedback on my work. I choose to not represent it here by linking to it, my “voice” here in Aldas comments section is of an Icelander who has lived abroad for a long time but still has close ties to Iceland. I digress – my point is I know how feedback works. I just think thats neither here nor there in this context. This is how I see it:
Alda here who basically volunteers her time to communicate complicated information about Icelandic news and culture in English and has been an incredibly valuable media source, especially since the meltdown (and can I repeat once again she is not making an income from this website which is a lot of work to keep up); Alda just published a book completely on her own. I do not see one single “Wow congratulations! Good job” comment on here before mine. I see you bought the book and commented on it. Thats great. Have no objections to that, your comments were not the ones that bugged me the most.
@Schnee (and JH too):
“Where, pray, DO you think is the right place to express your opinion on those prices, if not here? YMMV, but I couldn’t think of a better place to give feedback than the author’s very own blog, particularly a post specifically dedicated to the book in question.”
I would suggest emailing her. Or going into the forum. If this was my website I would be upset to receive such comments because I would worry that someone who initially did not find the price to be objectionable, would be persuaded against by so many comments like that. I know I would be really upset if this happened to me.
Furthermore, whatever it is that makes you come back to Aldas site, heres an idea: How about just an ounce of appreciation or acknowledgment. Alda just wrote a book. She is not on Amazon or Kindle, she may not expect to have large enough audience to be able to lower the price. She needs to get paid for her work. If you cant afford her book, then that is your problem. If you feel that its overpriced, guess what – also your problem. I personally cannot afford an Ipad. Boohoo! Not Apples problem, at least not while there are enough of others that can.
“What I said above nonwithstanding, do you honestly think that commenters should be mindless yes-men who’ll praise anything and everything instead of giving their honest opinion? There is such a thing as arguing for the sake of it and being a nuisance, but there’s also such a thing as providing constructive and/or valuable feedback.”
No. But believe me – there is a whole ocean between yes-men and this. What I do think is that there are some serious manners lacking here. This is Aldas virtual front door, the facade of her house so to speak. It is open for discussion and she is inviting people and trusting us to go about it respectfully. I cant understand how hard it is for some people to make a distinction about what is relevant and appropriate. Would you fart on tv or tell the interviewer that his tie is ugly? Or that you think he is overpaid? This is a public place. Behave accordingly.
Finally: If you feel so strongly about the pricing of her book, how about sending a simple email. You know – a private one. It could go something like this:
——
Hi Alda
I wanted to congratulate you on your book. I would love to read it, but I cannot afford it. I was thinking, and please excuse the unsolicited advice, that maybe there are more people like me that want it but cant afford it and its a possibility that if you lowered the price you would end up making more. Sorry to butt into your business, if this bothers you then ignore it. But however you feel about that – Well done! I hope tons of people buy it because you are worth every penny.
Signed -
No longer an a**hole
——-
@RK: “It is open for discussion and she is inviting people and trusting us to go about it respectfully”
I just reread JH’s post (and mine), and I fail to see where it’s lacking respect. Quite the contrary, the only one who’s been failing to maintain proper decorum here is you, what with calling people assholes and all that.
As long as you’re unable or unwilling to have a civilized discussion, I am not interested in talking to you. I’m sure you will understand that.
I am more than a bit surprised and shocked by some of the comments left above. Alda’s publication is not a commercial venture, is not enjoying a big print run by a major publishing house, has not been backed by Amazon or any other cash rich sponsor and quite probably it’s going to be pirated, so for every copy purchased on line, probably treble copies or more will be circulated for nothing. Alda is a gifted journalist which is why most of us read her lively and compassionate blogs. Give her a break. She deserves some payment for her endeavours and if it turns out that she makes a profit (which she probably won’t), then good on her. You’re talking about the cost of half a dozen cups of coffee in Starbucks!
As I’ve said before Alda, the book is a great read.Alda,and I hope the negative comments won’t get you down!!
sylvia from viking wirral
To all the cheapskates and whiners: If you believe Alda’s writing is worthwhile, pay for it. If you don’t, don’t read it. If you can’t afford it, that is unfortunate, but this book and this blog isn’t about you and your erroneous, self-defeating marketing concepts. Grow up.
I just came back to say that I realize that by signing my fictional email the way I did I displayed similar behavior to those I was criticizing. I was upset by the comments here but that doesnt give me permission to do what I feel others are doing just as Im calling out the behavior. I asked others to show restraint and/or decorum and I should do so myself. I let that word slip but I shouldnt have. I can see that now when Im calm.
So I wanted to apologize for that and retract only that word. Everything else I said I stand by completely.
I would like to second the opinion, that this book is great value.
Unlike the umpteenth book about the collapse from the bankers’ or economists’ point of view it provides some new insights, which I couldn’t find elsewhere – for instance the account of immigrants like the construction worker and the painter. I think it reveals a valuable insight into the relation between Icelanders and immigrant workers, which is apparently fraught with tension. Without the book this would otherwise remain almost invisible for outsiders like me. Those immigrants, who had helped to accomplish the non-virtual assets of the boom years, were apparently considered as disposable people, who could be dumped easily after the crash. Even if this particular aspect is definitely not flattering for Icelanders in general, it is nevertheless being portrayed in the book.
There had been several requests in comments to older post about writing a book on the meltdown from the ordinary people’s point of view. Now the book is here and I hope it finds many readers.
I was to write something about the book – but then saw Joergs last comment. I can only second what he wrote.
Ok. As someone who purchased the book and has a passing interest in economics here is my(obviously unsolicited) opinion.
Alda has made a call on what she believes the market will bear in regards to the price of her book. Was she right or not? We can only guess.
What I can say is that, from the point of view of economics that there is a sort of “sweet spot” of profit when selling goods. If something is too cheap, then even if a lot of people buy it you don’t get much profit. If something is too expensive, not that many people buy it and you don’t get much profit.
The trick is to get as close as possible to that “sweet spot” price.
Here’s the thing. If Alda looks at the first week(when the book is 19.95) and notices that even though the profit per unit is lower that she sold enough units that the overall profit is higher than any other single week(when the book is 29.95), then(being the intelligent woman that she is) she will lower the price.
However, if she looks at the sales from the first and following weeks and determines that there isn’t a significant difference in sales and people are buying about as many books during the first week as any other week, than because of the increased price, she will make more profit and(like before, being the intelligent woman that she is) the price will stand as is.
I hate to say it, but in this case the only thing that can answer this debate is the invisible hand of the market.
@Joerg
I think the experience of immigrants is universal and not restricted to Iceland. People moved to Iceland to take up the work available, now the work is no longer available. I’m sure their situation would be the same in numerous other countries. Economies have peaks and troughs, if someone is an economic migrant (having worked overseas myself I’d consider myself in that camp) they have to kind of expect that the good times may not last forever. Though nobody thought 5 years ago we’d have the downturn in the global economy that we’re now seeing.
I found the book slender but packed with insight. Alda got people talking freely and reflectively, and she found a diverse range of viewpoints. There is nothing in English like this book , and I have looked.
@Michael
I’m sure that there are similar problems for immigrants in many countries. Special to Iceland is the fact, that large scale immigration is a thing of the last decade and therefore quite new. And I think, it is the first time that Iceland has to deal with a large foreign workforce in a crisis. And the fact that some migrant labourers want to make Iceland their home rather than return back to their country of origin might have caught some Icelanders unawares, too.
The whereabouts of the foreign workers had been an open question for me for quite a while and thankfully Alda is giving some ideas in her book.
No good deed goes unpunished. (ebook perturbations).
Alda is always there for all of us who share an affinity for Iceland. You and I have been reading IWR at no cost, for how long now? So please reflect.
I am drinking this all in from my helvitis fokking fokk coffee mug, and am about to place my order for “Living Inside The Meltdown”.
Rob-USA
Congratulations on the e-book! Writing well researched, informative pieces (and transcribing interviews – blech!) is hella time consuming and takes a lot of effort and I commend you giving so much of yourself to something you are clearly passionate about. Keep up the wonderful work!
Well worth the content!! I will recommend it to my friends.
Well done Alda! I’m going to buy the book right now!
Alda,
Thank you for writing this book, I was going to wait but given the comments I thought the time was right to buy it. Thank you again.
I’m still debating if I can afford to buy the book at any price but feel it is likely a fair price. I’m always curious about the real feelings of real people after major shifts in social conditions. I was in Iceland immediately after the crash and have to say that a peaceful crowd that can get their message across without violence is impressive and not as easy as some would suggest. I watched the turmoil of the Vietnam era and the fall of American apartheid during the 60-70′s, that was filled with some very ugly moments. That was a very different scene of course so perhaps the crash of 1990 is a tiny bit closer and even that was rather ugly and disorganized. The chase for Pablo Escobar was a terror filled time for Colombians and then followed by an eerie calm, beauty, and confidence after his death. Witnessing the local culture during that time had almost no comparison to the media’s play on events. I’ll take a real person’s viewpoint over a professional shill’s “expert” analysis any day. Alda is a professional in my opinion but also lives a lot closer to reality than the loud mouths that get most of the attention